


London Calling to the Underworld

by NeoVenus22



Category: Doctor Who, Sanctuary (webseries), Torchwood
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 21:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoVenus22/pseuds/NeoVenus22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are two lost souls, joined by a dark and unique destiny.  But it is not meant to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	London Calling to the Underworld

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers: Background spoilers and timeline cobbled together from Sanctuary webisodes 1 through 4; and Doctor Who 2x12, 'Army of Ghosts'; 2x13, 'Doomsday'; 3x11, 'Utopia'. But I still took a few liberties.  
> Barney was Helen's protege prior to Will.

_London calling to the underworld  
come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls_

"There," said Henry, slapping down the lid on his generator, "that should do it."

"'Should' is the word I'm most concerned about, Henry," said Helen. "I trust those ghosts about as much as I am able to hold them."

"Excellent sentiment," muttered Jack. Then again, of course Jack would agree, Jack had too many ghosts in his past to begin with.

"The field will hold," Henry insisted. "Provided, of course, that the notes the Captain gave me were in any way accurate, since I based all of my calculations on your trust in him."

"There's that faith I'm so accustomed to," said Jack with a laugh. His hand dipped down the length of Henry's spine and Helen gamely pretended not to notice. The Captain's reputation had proven itself to be almost entirely accurate, time and time again, but Helen had found herself in the habit of making allowances for this kindred spirit.

Henry, on the other hand, for all of his bluster, didn't like being deterred from a project. "Next ghost shift is due to start in fifteen minutes," he said. "We should probably man our battle stations."

It was most fortunate, Helen thought, that the ghosts appeared on the video feed for the elaborate security system Henry had wired throughout the Sanctuary some years back. The building itself spanned too large a distance that they could monitor on foot, even with the assistance of Ashley, Barney, and Helen's manservant. So she, Henry, and Captain Jack settled in the main hub of the security room, each eying a different group of monitoring screens.

"Here it comes," warned Henry, "in five... four... three... two..."

"Ah," said Helen despite herself. She was watching the feed outdoors, just beyond the walls of the Sanctuary, where the ghost shift had started and the eerie gray beings had begun to hover and congregate on the roads past her walls. She'd since gotten used to the routine and scheduled appearances of the so-called 'ghosts', but their presence, the unnaturalness of them, unsettled her deeply. Even considering her line of work, she'd found them wholly disturbing, and had been much relieved when she found Captain Jack shared the sentiment.

"Ground floor's clear," Jack reported.

"Basement's clear," said Henry.

Helen checked each of her monitors in turn. "Lab and library are both clear."

"Boss, I think we're completely safe," Henry said. "The field's keeping them out. Guess the Captain was right after all."

"Words I need to hear far more often," said Jack. Helen caught his eye and he winked at her. "I think this calls for a celebration."

But although they indulged themselves, Helen had the more than fleeting impression, another sentiment with which she knew Jack agreed, that this was far from over.

* * *

Days later, Helen was monitoring one of Steve's training sessions when a deafening screech erupted in the gymnasium.

"The hell..?" demanded Steve, before skittering up the wall and clinging to the corner.

"I haven't a clue," Helen said, rushing to the phone. "Stay here for now, Steve, I'm going to find out what went wrong."

Barney met her en route to the lab. "There's something you oughta see, Helen. They're patching into all channels, anything that can receive visual signals. Every monitor in the building, same thing."

"They're not ghosts," Jack said darkly, arms folded tightly as he glared at the screen. "Calling themselves Cybermen. They're all over the globe."

"_Cybermen will remove fear,_" was the hollow-toned missive. "_Cybermen will remove sex and class and color and creed. You will become identical. You will become like us._"

"'Remove?'" echoed Helen.

"How exactly are they going to make us like them?" wondered Barney.

"I'm not sure," said the Captain. "There's a military revolt, but not much headway. Human numbers are decreasing, Cybermen numbers increasing."

"Do I want to know what that means?"

"I think I know," said Jack abruptly, dropping his arms and reaching for his long jacket, draped over one of the lab tables. "I have to get to London."

"Are you insane?" said Barney. "This is probably one of the safest places on the planet, thanks to Henry's shield modifications. Why would you want to go to the least safe?"

"The modifications were designed to keep the energy signatures from the ghosts outside, to prevent them from entering any rifts inside the building. I don't think that's really a problem anymore, now that they're corporeal and angry. I've already told Henry and the big guy to batten down the hatches. Ashley called Ern, the two of them are stocking up in the armory."

"Are you suggesting these Cybermen are about to invade my home?" said Helen.

"Nah, you'll give 'em hell first," said Jack with one of those rakish grins she was so fond of. It inspired no warm feelings in her now, however. "I can't stay here, though. I'm needed on the front line."

"By whom, pray tell?"

The look he gave her was shot through with sadness.

"Jack..." she began.

"I'm going to go help Ash," said Barney.

Left alone at last, but for how long was anyone's guess. Helen was pinched with worry for her home and for the safety of the creatures inside, some of whom couldn't defend themselves, some who could all too well. It was more difficult when the foe was unknowable. Neither Helen nor the Sanctuary was equipped to deal with the Cybermen.

It was clear, however, that Jack had no notions of gentle intervention. He was a soldier at heart and had only been biding his time with the research enthusiasts at the Sanctuary. Helen was far from surprised that Jack intended to be on the front lines. But that didn't make his eagerness to leave any less hurtful, whether he intended it or not.

"I have to go," he explained breathlessly. Something had settled into his features, mingling with his usual charming bravado, something deeper that left no question in her mind that he could not remain here. He gripped her forearm in one hand, a move filled with a desperate sort of tenderness. "He'll be there. They both will. And they'll need my help."

Helen had only vague notions of who 'he' might be, another doctor, another soul who knew the Captain's dark secret. The 'they' eluded her somewhat, but she supposed it didn't matter. Jack kept things close to his chest, emerging only sporadically in the form of anecdotes that amused but offered more mystery than insight.

"I'll come with you," she offered, knowing it was foolish to even suggest. She wouldn't leave this place or the people in it.

"No, stay here. The Sanctuary is special, Helen, and you need to keep it safe at all costs. Everyone here needs you."

"We need you as well."

He laughed a little, something insincere and despite himself. He sounded faraway, as though he'd left already. He leaned in and gave her a kiss, one without passion and more of a formality than anything else. "I'll be back," he told her sternly.

"How do you plan on getting to London when the world's under siege?" she said.

This time, Captain Jack's grin was bright and genuine. "Don't I always find a way?"

It was the last time she saw him within the Sanctuary.

* * *

The Sanctuary was under siege for twelve minutes. Henry's shield only locked out distinct energy traces, not solid matter. Unfortunately, having an open-door policy towards the strange and unusual made them far from impenetrable. And a fortress teeming with imperfect human life and faulty genetics was too great a lure for the Cybermen to resist.

Helen worked her way through the objects in the armory, weaponry built by the likes of Henry Foss and Ernie Watts, designed to do damage where necessary. The Cybermen stormed her home and Helen and her family inflicted damage where they could, a team of six against a seemingly endless faucet of metal invaders. Helen still had nightmares about the battle years later, even amongst the wealth of other incidents that had gone poorly and were fodder for bad dreams. The cry of _Delete!_ echoed throughout the cavernous hallways amidst the blast of weapons fire and the grunts and groans of those closest to her.

"Shit! Helen!"

She turned at the sound of Barney's cry, Barney, her right-hand man, who'd remained beside her even when Jack was the one occupying her periphery. He collapsed to the ground, his heavy firearm hitting his arm with a crack that made the hairs on her nape rise. A Cyberman loomed over him, cold and redundantly inhuman.

Helen raised her own weapon, took aim— she would not lose another so soon, not now, not here, not like this—

And then the Cyberman straightened, then all of them did, and marched in form away from the battle scene without so much as a goodbye.

* * *

There were so many of them in the sky they were merely dots, little salt-and-pepper shakers floating in the sky and firing blue lights. Henry was already back at work, arm slightly singed from one of the sasquatch's overenthusiastic misfires (her manservant was never meant to hold weaponry, although Jack had insisted that was the only thing that stood a chance of working), engaging in a frantic override of the entire security system, trying to find the place where the Cybermen had breached the lockdown. Barney was checking on the creatures in the holding cells. Ashley was cleaning her gun. Helen knew she was expected to exercise some authority, as this was her place and she should have been running it, but she was glued to the one video screen not monitoring the Sanctuary. The one with the news feed outside of London. That was where the Cybermen had retreated, to Canary Wharf.

Then a hole seemed to rip in the vision they saw, and a hole expanded in Helen's heart.

* * *

The Battle of Canary Wharf, they were calling it. A place wrought with death. And Helen was left prowling the halls of her own newly-impenetrable home, wishing the man who'd made it so was there to share in its safety. She hadn't heard a single word from Jack since his abrupt departure, and even knowing what she knew about him, even though she shared the same terrible secret, she still felt a spark of worry. Captain Jack Harkness had wormed his way into her heart, as well.

"I'm going to London," she announced to her constituents. "They'll need a doctor."

"They have plenty of doctors," Barney pointed out. No doubt he suspected her motivation wasn't entirely altruistic.

"I'm coming too, Mom." Ashley, who often seemed as though she'd perpetually be a teenager, angry and defiant. Jack had trained her in firearms himself. She was getting increasingly good at field work, which was both a relief and a worry to Helen.

Helen shook her head, hoping for once to be stern enough that Ashley would obey. "Not this time. I need you here."

"This place is fine. Henry fixed it."

"Just because it's 'fixed' doesn't mean it's 'fine.' There's still work to be done."

"You're not the only one that cares about Captain Jack, Mom!" The others looked away. "He's my friend, too. The search'll be over faster if we both look."

"I'm going into the mouth of Hell, Ashley, and you are most certainly not coming with me. That's final."

"What're you gonna do, ground me?"

"If I have to."

Ashley flung herself into a chair, the over-exaggerated pout making her look entirely her age. "This is such bullshit."

"Language!" Although she knew where Ashley was coming from and softened. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, whatever." She stormed off, but Helen knew better than to follow. Instead, she turned to her manservant, lay her hand on his furry cheek.

"Will you take care of her for me?"

He nodded resolutely. "Of course."

"Who's gonna take care of you, Helen?" Barney cut in sharply. "Not Jack. A real man would've stayed behind and defended his home."

"This is not his home," Helen retorted. She made allowances for Barney's jealousy, just as she made allowances for Jack's habits. In both cases, she could judge the true measure of the man beneath, found it worthy despite clear faults. "I never expected him to stay. And he did what he could."

"If you don't expect him to stay, why are you going to bring him back?"

"I only wish to know his fate. And you'll forget that London is my original homestead. I have some ties there myself."

"There's nothing to be gained by going."

"And there is nothing to be learned by staying behind." Helen lay her hand to his cheek, smooth where her manservant's was rough, Barney's eyes dark with something akin to longing. It was the same anxious yearning that plagued her, and would not go away until she could reassure herself of the Captain's safety. "I'll return, Barney. I can guarantee you that."

Whether she returned alone, however, was without guarantee.

* * *

Locating Jack Harkness provided to be much easier than she'd expected. She was pulled irresistibly towards Cardiff, and found him prowling around the Roald Dahl Plass. She caught up with him just before he could disappear into a shop. "Jack."

"Helen," he greeted her solemnly, before his mouth expanded in a warm smile. He brought her to him in an embrace that flooded heat through her. "I didn't think you'd follow me. I suppose I should be honored I got the great Dr. Magnus outside of the Sanctuary."

"I was worried," she said. "You're not an easy man to find, Captain."

"That's the idea. How is everything, did the Cybermen come?"

"They did. But we resisted, and then they returned to London. Everyone is safe. My daughter is safe. She sends her regards; she wanted to come along."

"Sort of ruins the honeymoon, though, doesn't it?" Jack was joking, but a sadness lingered behind his eyes.

"Did you get here in time?" she asked. "Did you find who you were looking for, the doctor?"

"He was gone," was the answer. Jack's eyes traveled elsewhere, focusing wearily on a point beyond her shoulder. "He's the one that saved us, I know he is, but he's gone off again."

"There's a list of the dead," she hedged. She'd found the name of a few old colleagues, or their descendants, while she'd been searching for Jack's.

"He's not on it. At least he's not."

"You've found other names you know, though."

"Some friends, yeah."

Helen fought the urge to embrace him again, she wasn't sure if she had the right. There was much about the mysterious Captain Jack she still did not know, and perhaps would never know. "You're welcome to come back, you know. Though I suspect you won't."

Jack shook his head, a faint smile playing. "Not this time, Dr. Magnus. I have to stay in Cardiff. I think it's the only way I can make contact."

"With your doctor?"

"I'd ask you to stay —I could use your help— but I don't think you'd be quite so willing to uproot yourself."

"My work means too much," she said.

"So does mine. I have a new mission now."

"An interesting one, I hope."

Jack grinned brightly. "Oh, you'd love it. Puts teurology in a whole new perspective. But you've got a family to get back to."

"So do you," she reminded him, although she knew it was a futile attempt. "Everyone there is fond of you, Jack, you always have a place there."

"Good to know 'Sanctuary for all' isn't an empty motto," he said.

Helen laughed in appreciation, but it sounded false even to her ears. There was a hiss in her chest, the slow sound of hope being extinguished. "I suppose this is goodbye, then."

"Goodbye, maybe, not but not exactly a farewell. I couldn't stay away from you for too long, Helen Magnus."

"Nor I you," she conceded with a smile.

If she was being truly honest with herself, Helen had never fully expected Jack to remain a constant in her life. He was too restless, too eager. He was a wanderer, whereas she was prone to being stagnant. Jack would go where he was needed, and Helen had seen to it she remained needed precisely where she was. They could simply not remain together.

But that did not rule out the option of their paths occasionally crossing, just as they always had.

Jack descended upon her in the middle of the crowded plaza, something that almost offended her sensibilities, but considering the source, was something she was willing to overlook. This was a goodbye between lovers, after all, something that could not be contained to a single phone call or letter.

"I'll come if you need me," he promised. "But I don't think you will."

"No?"

Jack studied her a moment. "No."

"Perhaps not, but I'll call anyway," she said.

"And I'll come running."

Jack kissed her again, and it was over. By sunset, she was on a plane returning home to her Sanctuary.

But the hole in Helen's heart, however miniscule, remained.


End file.
